Finally Free To Move–And Dream–Again

“I’m studying to be an orthopedic surgeon,” Ahmad declares, happy that treatment from the staff of Handicap Internationalhas made his dream possible again.

In 2012, it seemed gone forever. Minutes after Ahmad began playing with friends outside his house in Syria, a bomb exploded and destroyed both his legs. Despite the loss, Ahmad’s mother says, “even now—with both legs gone, no father, and no home but this one cold room—he still helps us all remember to smile.”

In November, 2012, Ahmad and his family left ongoing violence for makeshift shelter in Lebanon. Luckily, Handicap International was there to help. Its mission is to give back hope to the injured by responding to the needs of the most vulnerable populations, including people with disabilities and single women.

For Ahmad, it brought greater mobility in the form of a wheelchair, auxiliary crutches, and a toilet chair, along with weekly rehabilitation sessions. Lotfi, Ahmad’s HI physiotherapist, says it gives him joy to help Ahmed and other handicapped people recover from their injuries and learn to propel their wheelchairs over rough ground and around obstacles.

The organization also supplies needy families with enough financial aid to buy basic necessities, including school supplies. Since October 2013, HI has also been working in Syria and in refugee camps and host communities to educate people about the dangers of unexploded munitions.